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New research by an international team raises questions about the timing and nature of early interactions between indigenous people and Europeans in North America.

A human face effigy from ceramic vessel from the Mantle site [Credit: Archaeological Services Inc./Andrea Carnevale]

The European side of first contact with indigenous people and settlement in northeast North America is well known from European sources. Until now it's been assumed that the finds of dated European artifacts provide a timeline for the indigenous peoples and settlements of this period as well. New research suggests this may be a mistake in cases where there was not direct and intensive exchange.

Radiocarbon dating and tree-ring evidence shows that three major indigenous sites in Ontario, Canada, conventionally dated 1450-1550 are in fact 50-100 years more recent. This dates the sites to the worst period of the Little Ice Age, around 1600.

"This seems extraordinary: Given this was only 400 years ago, how can we have been wrong by as much as 25 percent?" said first author Sturt Manning, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Classical Archaeology, chair of the Department of Classics and director of the Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory.

Manning is lead author of "Radiocarbon Re-dating of Contact-era Iroquoian History in Northeastern North America," published in Science Advances. Other Cornell authors include Cornell Tree-Ring Laboratory senior researcher Carol Griggs '77, Ph.D. '06, and doctoral student Samantha Sanft. The paper represents the first major findings of the "Dating Iroquoia" project, a National Science Foundation-funded effort led by Manning and co-director Jennifer Birch (University of Georgia).

Previously, dates in the early contact period were based on the absence – and then presence – of types of glass beads and other European trade goods in excavated sites, along with shifts in material culture, such as changes in ceramic designs. Dates were assigned according to "time transgression," the assumption that when European goods are found in one place with a confirmed date associated with them, that same date can be used for other places where those trade goods are found.

"But goods don't get distributed evenly within societies or across distances," said Manning. "This is a vast area with complex local societies and economies, so the concept that everybody gets the same thing necessarily all at once is a bit ludicrous in retrospect."

The team's chronological findings dramatically rewrite how history has been understood in the region. The period of first European contact, rather than following major changes in Iroquoian society, can now be seen to coincide with those changes. According to Birch, an expert on Iroquoian societies, "Our work has shown that, at least for some communities, contact-era transformations happened much later and much more rapidly than previously assumed."

"Of course, we've dated only one site sequence, and there are many more," Manning said. "What this paper really shows is we now need to reassess all those site sequences where there's not a clear historical link or association."

The researchers first examined the Warminster site in Canada, believed to be visited by French explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1615. Using radiocarbon isotope and dendrochronological (tree ring) dating, combined with a mathematical technique, determined the indigenous settlement at the location to date from between 1585 and 1624, which corresponded with Champlain's visit. Archaeological evidence and provided confirmation of the accuracy of their techniques.

The team then assessed a series of well-known, high profile settlements, Draper-Spang-Mantle. In the 16th century, Iroquoian societies lived in village communities for approximately 10 to 50 years; once the local resources were exhausted, the community relocated the village. Archaeological evidence indicates that these three villages were occupied in sequence by the same ancestral Huron-Wendat community. Mantle, the latest site in the sequence, was shown to date to between 1599 and 1614, partly contemporaneously with Warminster.

Author: Linda B. Glaser | Source: Cornell University [December 05, 2018]

The ancient Greek Statue of a Victorious Youth by fabled sculptor Lysippos belongs to Italy, the supreme Cassation Court said Tuesday, saying the Getty Museum in California must hand it back.

The disputed 'Statue of a Victorious Youth', 300–100 BC  [Credit: Dave & Margie Hill/WikiCommons]

The top court rejected an appeal by the US museum against a Pesaro judge's order to confiscate the fourth-century BC bronze statue.

"The Lysippos (as it is known in Italy) must return to Italy, it's the last word from Italian justice," Pesaro prosecutor Silvia Cecchi told ANSA after the long legal battle.

Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli told ANSA "now we hope the US authorities will act as soon as possible to favour the restitution of the Lysippos to Italy".

He said he was happy that "this judicial process has finally ended and the right to recover an extremely important testimony of our heritage has been recognised.

"Let's hope the statue can soon return to be admired in our museums".

But the Getty said in a statement that "we will continue to defend our right to the Lysippos.

"The law and the facts do not justify the restitution to the Italian government of a sculpture that has been exhibited to the public in Los Angeles for almost half a century". In June the Pesaro prosecutors announced that the order issued to seize the statue for years disputed by Italy and the Getty Museum in Malibu was "immediately executive".

"The Lysippos statue must return to Italy," prosecutors told ANSA, accompanied by Tristano Tonnini, the lawyer for the association "Cento Citta'", which has been fighting the legal battle for 11 years.

"We expect politicians to play their part," they said.

The Italian judge rejected an appeal by the Getty Museum, ruling that the fourth-century BC Greek statue - known as Lysippos or Lysippus after its creator and fished out of the sea off Pesaro in 1964 - must be seized wherever in the world it is.

Commonly referred to as the Getty Bronze and formally named Statue of a Victorious Youth, the statue is one of the best-known works in the Los Angeles-based museum.

The Lysippos has been contested ever since the Getty bought it for almost four million dollars in 1977 from German art dealer Herman Heinz Herzer, paying nearly 800 times the $5,600 that Italian dealers paid the fishermen for it in 1964.

Italy has long claimed the statue was smuggled out of the country and has demanded that the Getty hand it back.

Lawyer Tonnini said he was satisfied by the judge's ruling, but said he is also convinced that "the California museum always knew that it was buying a smuggled and illegally exported artifact".

Pesaro prosecutor Cristina Tedeschini said she expected a favourable ruling from the Court of Cassation.

"But the fact is that three different judges have reaffirmed that the statue belongs to the Italian state and that it must be given back," Tedeschini said.

In November 2007, a court in Fano, near Pesaro, cleared the Getty Museum of wrongdoing in the case.

But prosecutor Silvia Cecchi said the judge "affirmed that the statue was taken in Italian national waters and therefore belongs to Italy," which has been the sustained argument since 2007 to get the statue back.

"It must be very clear that the order is immediately executive and we will apply this principle by notifying the American authorities," Cecchi said.

The Getty said it would lodge an appeal at the Cassation Court to "defend our rights".

Source: ANSA [December 04, 2018]

Twelve pieces of ancient mosaics in Bowling Green State University’s art collection are being packed for their return to the Republic of Turkey. Representatives of BGSU and the Turkish government marked the return of the artifacts at a news conference Nov. 20 in the University’s Wolfe Center for the Arts, where the mosaics have been on display.

Bacchanante cut from same floor with cleaned up edges [Credit: Bowling Green State University]

BGSU and the Directorate General for Cultural Heritage and Museums of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey reached an agreement for the return of the mosaics last May.

Acquired by the University in 1965, the mosaics had long been thought to have originated in the ancient city of Antioch, in modern-day Turkey. In 2012, research by then-BGSU faculty member Dr. Stephanie Langin-Hooper and Dr. Rebecca Molholt of Brown University suggested that the mosaics did not come from Antioch, but instead were from the ancient city of Zeugma, also in Turkey.

Mosaic of Pan [Credit: Bowling Green State University]

Mask Mosaic [Credit: Bowling Green State University]

That new research raised questions about both the origin of the mosaics and the circumstance of their excavation prior to BGSU’s acquisition, as some mosaics from Zeugma were removed through unauthorized excavation and put into the international art market. Additional research and consultation with scholars, art experts and representatives from the Republic of Turkey have confirmed that the mosaics are very likely from Zeugma and that the provenance of the pieces prior to BGSU’s acquisition will likely never be known.

Under the agreement, the mosaics will be returned to the Republic of Turkey to be exhibited at the world-renowned Zeugma Mosaic Museum in the city of Gaziantep. This will allow the historic artifacts to be appreciated and studied where they originated and be enjoyed by a much wider audience. According to BGSU President Rodney Rogers, this was a key consideration for the University.

Mask Mosaic [Credit: Bowling Green State University]

Bird panel with geometric and floral fragment [Credit: Bowling Green State University]

“As a public university, we have a special obligation to contribute to the public good. That obligation extends to the global community,” Rogers said. “The preservation and care of the mosaics has been a priority for BGSU for the last 53 years. We have relied upon the expertise of scholars to guide us, both when we acquired the pieces and now. Thanks to the work of Dr. Langin-Hooper and others, it is clear today that the best place for these precious artifacts is back in the Republic of Turkey at the Zeugma Mosaic Museum. We greatly appreciate the collegiality of the Turkish Ministry of Culture in working with us through this process.”

The Directorate is paying for the costs of the transfer and BGSU will be receiving high-quality replicas of the mosaics.

Owl Mosaic [Credit: Bowling Green State University]

Bird Mosaic [Credit: Bowling Green State University]

The University acquired the mosaics for about $35,000 under the direction of then-BGSU President William Jerome and faculty in the BGSU School of Art. The limited records available show that the University purchased the artwork from Peter Marks, of the New York gallery Peter Marks Works of Art. The University acquired the mosaics in compliance with the law at the time and it made the purchase in good faith.

Since acquiring the mosaics, the University has had them restored and constructed a permanent display for them in The Wolfe Center for the Arts.

Zeugma mosaics installed at BGSU's Wolfe Center for the Arts [Credit: Bowling Green State University]

Dr. Langin-Hooper is currently an assistant professor and Karl Kilinski II Endowed Chair of Hellenic Visual Culture in the Department of Art History at Southern Methodist University. Dr. Molholt passed away in 2014.

Source: Bowling Green State University [December 02, 2018]